


Reunions are not always happy

by icemakestars



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Loneliness, Manga Spoilers, Reflection, Tearjerker, dragneel brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 18:06:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5426618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been almost one hundred years since Zeref last saw Mavis. Everything has changed, he is no longer good and he is determined to destroy Fairy Tail. And yet, Mavis is still as beautiful as he remembered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunions are not always happy

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift to Dianathetsundere on Tumblr... you should totally check out her artwork, it's incredible! 
> 
> Also, this is loosely based on the reunion scene in the manga set not long after the Grand Magic Games Arc... enjoy!

Zeref could not remember what it was like to grieve. So many deaths had occurred in his wearily long life, he could no longer remember which he was responsible for and which were the product of nature's cruelty coupled with the fleeting fragility of the human condition.

There were only two deaths which Zeref could recall with a shockingly frightful clarity, one which was painfully out of his hands, the other entirely at his own blame.

The first, his brother. Natsu may be a fire wizard, but Zeref was an open flame; people who stood too close always ended up burnt. He only ever wanted to be reunited with his brother and, although he had reached his goal, Natsu remained disdainfully out of his grasp. That was Zeref's greatest torment, knowing that his brother lived but being forced to stay away. Of course, he understood that Natsu would not remember their familial connection, and would no doubt reject the truth when he so discovered it, but that knowledge did little to soothe Zeref's aching mind.

Mavis was the second, and although her death was not directly his fault, the guilt still weighed heavily in his soul. He had known that he would love her from the moment she gazed at him in the river lifetimes ago. It was also then that he decided that he could not have her, because she was pure and honest, and the stark contrast of everything that  _he_  was. But if Zeref hated his dark past, Mavis loved him for it. She loved his knowledge, and his wisdom. She loved his experience, and his calmness which was so striking, it was almost a calamity in itself. More than that, Mavis loved Zeref's soul, his core, the thing which made him himself. And that core was kindness. It was the same as Natsu's, and no doubt a reflection of the ideology that their parents had spoon-fed them both as children.

That shred of humanity disappeared when Mavis died.

Zeref felt it happen, as real and sudden as though it was a physical blow. He no longer had any tenderness or compassion; that light had been extinguished along with Mavis' life. Now all Zeref had was contempt for mankind, a deep and consuming hatred that spurred him on to new extremes. He saw the world turning, time shifting with new magic and technology and hope, and he resented it. Because Mavis was not there to share it with him. Because they had forgotten  _her._

Everyone had moved on, except Zeref himself and the guild Mavis used to be a part of, Fairy Tail. Zeref hated them the most. Every time the wind changed direction and a new guild master was chosen, they would discover Fairy Tail's darkest secret, both it's light and it's dark, and Zeref hated them more. They knew about Mavis, about what she had done for them and what she had sacrificed, and yet they acted as though they were repulsed by the idea of the  _Lumen Histoire_. Part of Zeref wanted to posses it purely for power, but another, more timid and reserved part of him wanted it so that somebody was appreciating Mavis for how incredible she was.

Even now, in her ethereal form, Mavis was beautiful. Zeref was used to the two parts of his mind- who he used to be and who he had become- warring with one another, but when he saw Mavis again after all of these years, the voices in his head silenced completely.

After the shock had passed, Zeref was left with a hollow and sick feeling, knowing that he had gone too far down the path of darkness to turn back. Her death had left him reeling, and now Zeref had lost compassion even for the person who deserved it the most. She smiled at him, reaching a shaking hand towards the hard line of his jaw. Zeref tried hard not to register the hurt in Mavis' eyes when he had flinched away, nor did he let himself focus on the way her arm slumped back to her side in defeated gloom.

“This is war, Mavis. Everything that happened, everything we were or could have been, died along with you. Fairy Tail is my enemy, and I will not hesitate in destroying you all and everyone that you hold dear.” Zeref was no longer surprised by the level malice in his voice; he had caused far too much pain to feel anything more than idle boredom. A century ago, Zeref might have thrown up at using such language towards such a sweet and honest creature such as Mavis Vermilion, but that wasn't the man that he was. At least, not any more.

Mavis reacted to his words instantly. Her eyes set into a cool and blank hardness, her face fell slack into an emotionless, unreadable mask. It was a tactic she used, Zeref knew. It did not allow the enemy to read the emotions Mavis held, and a tiny shred of Zeref's humanity was grateful for that. If he had to face the true amount of pain that he had caused Mavis... He did not think anyone on Earthland was ready for destruction he would cause in reaction.

“I understand, Zeref. We will not lose to you; Fairy Tail is stronger than you will ever know.” Her back was straight, lips a solid pink line against the pale white of her skin. Despite her hard exterior, Mavis' voice wavered. If she noticed, she gave no response. Zeref ignored the sliver of weakness out of respect alone.

It had been nearly one hundred years since they had last seen each other, and yet Zeref was still surprised by how beautiful she was. Not the obvious kind of beauty, Zeref noted. It was subtle, intelligent. You didn't realise how much grace charm Mavis possessed until you had already fallen for her, a fact Zeref had witnessed first hand. Instead of enthralling him like it used to, her presence now filled him with rage. She had almost completely accomplished the thing that Zeref so desperately desired, and yet she had hardly suffered under the curse of immortality at all. Meanwhile, he had been left alone in the dark, with nothing but his creeping insanity to keep him moving forward.

“They are nothing but pawns in my game. I will crush them in an instant.” Zeref sneered.

Mavis' smile was smile and hesitant, but she met Zeref's gaze and he couldn't help but gulp down whatever venomous phrase  he was no doubt about to aim at her. “What happened to you, Zeref?”

He didn't answer, because wasn't it obvious? He was left alone to fade into the outskirts of reality, becoming nothing more than a word on a page, a legend passed down with the intention to frighten little children. To most people, 'Zeref' was not a real entity, but rather a summary of the dark magic which could plague the country. Whether his original intentions were good or evil, that didn't matter. As of now, he was the Dark Wizard Zeref, leader of the Alverez Empire. He was revered, acknowledged. For the first time in years, people knew who Zeref was and did not fear him. The power this granted him was intoxicating.

Mavis sighed. “I'm sorry for your loss, Zeref.”

Zeref's head snapped up sharply, dark magic eroding the scenery around them. “What have I lost?”

“Your soul, your integrity....” Mavis' smile was sweet and genuine, and Zeref felt a sudden surge of regret that he had killed her, and that he would no doubt kill her again at the next opportunity which reached him. “Your kindness.” She reached out for his face again, and this time he allowed the feathery touch. Her fingers disappeared straight through his skin, and it was only then that Zeref realised how translucent her complexion was.

She turned and walked away, body almost floating in the warm summer breeze. Her hair reflected the sun's light, but Zeref thought that it had always been that golden.

He watched her go, eyes laced with a sadness that he could not quite place. When she was out of the range of his magic, Zeref raised one hand and reached out to her, a single tear, torn from somewhere deep inside that he was frightened to acknowledge, rolled down his cheek.

“Until next time, Mavis...”


End file.
